Tech titans curb hiring to endure ‘tumultuous times’

PARIS: From e-commerce colossus Amazon to social networking star Facebook, US tech firms that once grew with abandon have reined in hiring to endure tumultuous times.

Internet giants that saw business boom during the pandemic have taken a hit from inflation, war, supply-line trouble and people returning to pre-coronavirus lifestyles.

Corporate belt-tightening was a common theme as big tech firms reported earnings from the first three months of this year.

Facebook parent Meta told analysts that hiring goals were being adjusted as it continued to look to a bright future.

“We regularly re-evaluate our talent pipeline according to our business needs, and in light of the expense guidance given for this earnings period, we are slowing its growth accordingly,” a Meta spokesperson told reporters.

“However, we will continue to grow our workforce to ensure we focus on long-term impact.”

Seatle-based Amazon, the second largest employer in the United States, revealed that its ranks are overly plump ater ending last year with more than twice as many workers as it had in 2019.

As the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 slowed during the first quarter of this year and workers returned from time off, Amazon “quickly went from being understaffed to overstaffed,” chief financial officer Brian Olsavsky told analysts.

Twiter confirmed that it has flat-out suspended hiring, and even showed a few senior executives the exit, as it faces a takeover by Elon Musk, the richest person on the planet.

Musk sent mixed messages on Friday about his proposed Twiter acquisition.

At ride-share pioneer Uber, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said they will “treat hiring as a privilege,” according to an email to employees seen by CNBC.

While big tech players have steered clear of budget-driven layoffs, such is not the case for stock trading plaform Robinhood or Cameo, an app that sells custom video messages from celebrities. Robinhood said in April that it will cut nearly 350 positions, about 9 per cent of its workforce. Cameo terminated the contracts of 80 employees recently, according to news website The Information.

Reasons for hiring curbs, freezes or cuts vary. Meta, for example, put some blame on a tweak Apple made to sotware running its popular mobile devices that stymies the gathering of user data to target ads more effectively.

Uber, meanwhile, reported it was hit with a big loss in the first three months of the year, despite a rebound in its ride-share business.